50 Successful Ivy League Application Essays

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“A Dramatic Coup”
Fareez Giga
Stanford University
I SAT ThErE, STUNNEd For AN 
instant, and then jumped as high as 
I could and screamed as loud as my voice would allow. Blood rushed 
through my entire body, while the butterflies in my stomach finally 
flew away. I had just received my LAMDA Diploma with Honors, a task 
that has only been done by one person before me. LAMDA, the London 
Academy of Music and Dramatic Arts, comes to my high school, as 
well as others in the states, and gives what are essentially acting ex-
ams. In these exams, you must perform a series of monologues, and to 
receive the Diploma you must perform four five-minute monologues, 
one pre-1910, one post-1980, one Shakespearean, and one of your 
choice. I had worked for weeks on my monologues, perfecting them as 
much as I could, staying after school, working at lunch, even at home, 
despite the shouting by my sister for me to stop. When it came time 
to perform, I was incredibly nervous; however, after I came out of my 
performance, I lingered outside the theater, waiting upon my results, 
and when they came, I was astounded. not only was I able to pass my 

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50 Successful Ivy League Application Essays
exam, but also I came out of it with greater knowledge of theater than 
I had when I started. I learned a great deal from taking these various 
exams, most notably the age old lesson that hard work does pay off. 
The personal splendor I felt was one that I had never felt before, and I 
live to feel it again.
AnAlysis
Fareez shares a meaningful accomplishment in a small space. 
He effectively explains the significance of the LAMDA Diploma with 
Honors—an award that only one other person had received before 
him—and portrays a sense of jubilation which reveals to the reader 
his excitement. Fareez then describes how much work went into pre-
paring the four monologues, each from different time periods. Plus he 
adds detail on how much he worked to perfect them, even humorously 
revealing that his sister begged him to stop. He concludes with the 
greater meaning that he learned from the experience, that hard work 
pays off.
In this limited part of the application, Fareez accomplishes a lot 
and touches on all the elements that highlight the achievement as well 
as positive aspects of his personality. It’s important to remember that 
admissions officers will not know the significance of most awards un-
less you tell them. Describe how few people receive the award or how 
selective the competition is. Briefly explain the amount of work that 
was involved or how difficult it was to prepare. Then, put the award 
into perspective. What did you learn from winning? How can you apply 
what you learned to your future endeavors? Why was winning impor-
tant to you? If you write about receiving an award, it’s important to do 
more than just state that you did. You should also give context to the 
honor.
“Music as My second language”